122 posts
If you ain’t failing… you ain’t trying! Well, Andrew Friedman has failed a lot! It all started with Brett Anderson, Scott Kazmir, and Brandon McCarthy. Maybe they weren’t an absolute failure – maybe they were a “bridge,” but most people view it as a failure. He tried… Good on…
According to numerous MLB sources who are all pretty credible, the Dodgers wanted to re-sign Kenley Janson. However, some fans want to believe otherwise. I will be the first to tell you that every report from an “insider” is suspect and not to be taken to the bank, but when I…
Well, let the bidding begin. A number of publications have put out their top 50 Free Agents list. MLBTR is one of my favorites to follow. They are no better with their prognostications than are any other publication. They run contests every year, and many of the readers have…
It s quite possible that a monkey throwing darts at random reliever names may outperform the deepest pocket GM s in the game when it comes to picking relievers.
In October of 2014, the ownership of the Dodgers decided to go in a new direction and named Andrew Friedman President of Baseball Operations. GM Ned Colletti was moved to another position in the organization and Friedman brought in Farhan Zaidi as the new GM. At the time, the only thing I knew about Friedman was that he had been running the Tampa Bay Rays. I knew they had gotten
On October 14th, 2014, the Dodgers announced the hiring of Andrew Friedman. Former Tampa Bay GM and Vice President of baseball operations as President of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers. His contract was for 5 years and 35 million dollars. Friedman was born in Houston Texas and attended Tulane University on a baseball scholarship. His college career was derailed by a couple of injuries. He earned a B.A .
I know that many are afraid of a Betts/Price trade because of the financial concerns for David Price, and I can understand that. So I went back and looked at the Nick Punto trade (I know Mark’s favorite subject); a previous time when the Dodgers assumed a huge financial obligation for a perceived benefit. I pulled the below article: https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2018/3/29/17104518/gonzalez-beckett-crawford-red-sox-dodgers-trade-retrospective One of the lines that caught my eye was when
Mark and I don’t always agree on everything Blue, although I think we are pretty consistent from a Macro view. But when it comes to the bullpen, Mark and I just do not see eye to eye. I have been a relief pitcher wonk since 1959 and Larry Sherry. Clem Labine would have been my favorite Dodger in the mid 50’s. I am not going to go through the history
Per JT on the Suits: We trust them, said the third baseman and team leader. The front office has done a great job. They build a 40-man roster, not a 25-man roster, and that s the biggest difference between the Dodgers and other teams. I have been saying that for 4 years running. AF is a master at building the 40-man roster to play in a 162-game season. The Dodgers should
So many Dodger fans and Dodger Bloggers and Dodger Journalists are saying that the Dodgers are cheap and ran like the Tampa Bay Rays because they won t go out and trade bushels of top prospects for Kluber or Realmuto or that they won t sign Bryce Harper to a 14 year/$420 million dollar contract. Look, there is no dumbass vaccine and I am convinced that fans who want that are mentally
No, this is not a course in the “new math.” Five out of four people struggle with math anyway. However, sometimes you can get better by deleting some pieces. You don’t always have to add pieces to get better. These pieces that you subtract may be pieces that most people view as essential, but in reality, they may not be that at all. Now, I am certain that Andrew Friedman
I hope you all bear with me. I would like to somewhat continue the FAZ discussion from yesterday. And then to give one last autopsy report on the 2018 WS. As Mark indicated, FAZ took over a team that had a payroll in excess of $250MM. One would think that a team with that…
WELCOME TO THE FALL CLASSIC 2018!! By the time the Dodgers and Red Sox square off in Game 1 of the 2018 World Series, it will have been 356 days since the Dodgers went down in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series. It will be 30 year s this month since the last Dodgers WS victory. This year’s WS can make all of those bad memories go away (at least
Now that the Dodgers are in the NLDS, I thought I would take a look back to see how they got here. While I never gave up hope, I absolutely had my doubts. I had concerns about how the team was structured, and in game management. It became apparent that the primary focus for the front office was to get below and stay below the competitive balance tax threshold. If
when the Dodgers could have traded for Cole Hamels for SVS and JDL? (Neither do I, but some insist it is true.) when every Dodger fan wanted Sonny Gray? when Dodger fans wanted David Price? when Dodgers fans were upset that Zack Greinke was not resigned by the Dodgers? I remember when FAZ signed Anderson, McCarthy and Kazmir? when FAZ got Barnes, Hernandez, Grandal, Taylor,
It was actually an encouraging game for the Dodgers as a team. CT3 got on base on 4 of his plate appearances. Plus he actually got a stolen base. Puig had a 3 hit night. The Dodgers actually got a sac fly. After the third inning they stopped chasing Corbin’s slider and worked him to where he was gone after 5. Baez is proving to be a good low leverage
Secret Weapon #1 This is a series that will focus on several weapons the Dodgers have that could make a world of difference to them in 2018. Today, we will discuss secret weapon #1. This series will run several days I can t tell you how many there are because you can t know (yet) how many secret weapons the Dodgers have. When the Dodgers traded Adrian Gonzalez, Scott Kazmir, Brandon
I frequently hear this: This is the same Dodger Team as Last Year. The Dodgers are standing pat. I guess some people think that if they say it enough, it will become true. If that s the case, keep repeating over-and-over that you are Brad Pitt. Poof, it will happen! READ THIS SLOWLY: This is not the SAME team as last year. Is it better? I don t know . MAYBE. Maybe not,
By now it s old news that the Dodgers were named the Organization of the Year in 2017 by Baseball America. If we go back in time to when Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi took over the Dodgers three years ago, the Farm System was ranked number 14 in all of baseball by Baseball America. In one short year, FAZ elevated that ranking to #3 and in 2016, they were ranked
What’s happening to this year’s crop of free agents? This is December 27, and out of the top 50 MLB TradeRumors free agent predictions, only 19 have signed new contracts, and one decided not to opt out (Masahiro Tanaka). Of the 30 unsigned players, none of the top 11 have signed new contracts (excluding Tanaka not opting out), and 15 of the top 20 are still unsigned. Of the
There is a lot to unpackaged on the trade of Adrian Gonzalez, Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and Charlie Culberson for former Dodger darling, Matt Kemp. Whether Matt Kemp ever plays for the Dodgers again is in question. He could be flipped to an AL team in need of a DH. I think he has some value and I cannot just see him being released unless his clubhouse demeanor is worse
Well this has been some Hot Stove League for the Dodgers thus far, right? The Winter Meetings went just about as most expected…the current 40 man roster is the same as before the meetings started. I don t count Koehler because he was post Winter Meetings, and the signing is still pending physical. I never thought Stanton was an option, but it was fun to fantasize. My only disappointment is that
Just because other teams make dope-fiend moves, doesn t mean the Dodger have to. Look, they have been paying the luxury tax for too long and have paid about $300 million in penalties. It started with foolish, long-term deals to Kemp and Ethier and then came THE TRADE (Beckett, Gonzalez and Crawdad). The Dodgers owe Kemp $5.5 million over the next two year, but after next season, most of the obligations
OK, I ll put down my crack pipe, if you put down yours. Stanton and Ohtani were crack! Just say no to drugs! This Team Is Still Pretty Special. The won 104 games and just missed winning the World Series by that much. Let s start with this: The Dodgers are set at a number of positions with some high quality players, most of whom are young enough to improve even more .
I find myself in somewhat of a dilemma. I never believed the Dodgers would spring for Stanton. That is not what they do. It is not who they are. But yet I was getting excited about the chance of the ONE true game changer available this year becoming a Dodger. I was convinced that the Dodgers only entered into the discussion to get Stanton to say no to the Giants. I
I have reached the point that I don t care where Stanton goes so long as it is not in the NL West. Let the Yankees have him. I m down with that as long as the Dodgers get someone else. OK, I admit to having been a big proponent that the Dodgers should acquire Giancarlo Stanton. Especially now, that the Angels have signed Ohtani, it would really be nice to counteract
By the time Brandon Morrow got to the big leagues in 2017, the Dodgers were ready for someone to set-up Kenley Jansen on the back of the bullpen. Brandon Morrow filled that bill and while I would love to have him back, there are two problems: (1) He was healthy last year, but he has generally never been that healthy at any time in his career; and (2) some other
I continue to read that Dodger Ownership/Management wants to get under the luxury tax threshold THIS year. That is certainly a laudable goal, and under normal circumstances I can see why that should always be the goal. But is 2018 the year to draw the line? Sometimes you need to spend money to make money. In home building, finishes are upgraded to get buyers to sign. Buyers are visual…bling
Anyone who really believes they know what the Master Plan is could be delusional. One thing I have learned is that one never knows in what direction FAZ goes. Did anyone truly believe that FAZ would have signed all three 2016 FA? Most did not even think Hill was a consideration, and that FAZ would only sign one of Jansen and Turner. I thought that Turner would come back (LA
Lest we forget, the Dodgers were so close, so very close to winning the World Series last year and they were (for the most part) a very young team. The CF, SS and 1B were all under 24. The RF was 26 and the catcher was 27. Next year, they will be even younger after Chase Utley, Andre Ethier and Adrian Gonzalez are gone, but that’s not to say they
